Are Republicans serious about refusing to raise the debt ceiling?

[Bass v 2.0]

Are Republicans serious about refusing to raise the debt ceiling? - By Christopher Beam - Slate Magazine

The Republitards are just bluffing unless they want history to repeat itself:

Why the disagreement among Republicans? Perhaps the elders have learned their lesson. In 1996, Boehner, then a freshman, led the last budget showdown between a Republican Congress and a Democratic president. When the parties came to an impasse, Boehner blamed Clinton: "We have offered to work with the president to avert this crisis," he said. "But so far, all we have gotten are excuses."


Everyone remembers the outcome of that gambit. The new Republican majority refused to raise the debt ceiling. President Clinton refused to meet GOP demands, which included eliminating the Commerce Department. The government shut down. Newt Gingrich made an unwise comment about how Clinton had once made him sit at the back of an airplane. Voters blamed Republicans for the crisis. Clinton was re-elected.


What would happen if Republicans forced another shutdown? This time would be worse. The administration would have to come up with $1.4 trillion in savings to make up for the budget shortfall. With a total annual budget of $3.8 trillion, that would entail a budgetary massacre. Treasury would be unable to sell more bonds, driving the already vulnerable bond market haywire. Investors could also take it as a sign that the United States is unable to repay its debt. And as in 1996, voters could blame Republicans.

 

[The T]

They by God had better be. We are broke.

Bring on the cuts.

 

[Annie]

I doubt they will not raise it, but they better hold out:

Should Republicans Raise the Debt Ceiling? - By Kevin D. Williamson - Exchequer - National Review Online

Should Republicans Raise the Debt Ceiling?
By Kevin D. Williamson
Posted on November 23, 2010 3:30 PM

I am not at all convinced that congressional Republicans are serious about refusing to raise the debt ceiling, but I am pleased that Mike Lee and others are getting ready to make an almighty stink about it. As somebody famous once said, elections matter — and the Democrats, along with a few lukewarm Republicans, are about to get their first real experience of what Americans sent to Congress in November.

Advice to Republicans: You had better hold out for some real spending cuts.

You can already see the outlines of a deal shaping up in Washington, one in which Republicans give in on the debt ceiling in exchange for Democrats’ agreeing to extension of all the Bush tax cuts. That’s a bad deal for Republicans, and for anybody else who cares about fiscal discipline: It’s a bad deal for Republicans because, unless they do something stupid, they’re going to get their way on the Bush tax cuts, regardless. Nobody wants to raise taxes right now, and it is unlikely that freshly shellacked congressional Democrats will fight hard for a tax hike on their donors at just this moment. If the tax cuts are to be extended, then Republicans should insist that they be written into regular law instead of coming up for renewal every few years, and then impose compensatory spending cuts to zero out the deficit impact. (My more enthusiastic supply-side friends will not be surprised that I do not think that the government should bother accounting for growth effects of the lower tax rates; the effects are real, but they aren’t reliably predictable, and if we leave them out of the calculation then that extra revenue is gravy — and it can be put toward further deficit and debt reduction.)

My best guess is that the debt ceiling is going up. Nobody reasonably expects a Republican House to be able to prevail upon a Democratic Senate and President Obama to balance the budget today. But Republicans can — and must — insist on a real deficit-reduction program that is very largely focused on spending cuts rather than tax hikes, one that has some real teeth on the enforcement end of things. The timeline doesn’t have to be tomorrow, but it had better not have a 20-year grace period, either: Real cuts should start kicking in right now, and the deficit should be significantly reduced within five years and radically reduced within ten...

 

[Bass v 2.0]

They by God had better be. We are broke.

Bring on the cuts.

I hope the Republitards do it too, then we can get rid of the rest of the Republitard trash in the nest House and Senate elections and would for sure keep a GOP president out of the WH.

 

[The T]

They by God had better be. We are broke.

Bring on the cuts.

I hope the Republitards do it too, then we can get rid of the rest of the Republitard trash in the nest House and Senate elections and would for sure keep a GOP president out of the WH.

Just keep spending future generations into debt. Nice plan Bozo.

Generational theft! That's the ticket! Welcome to the new slavery courtesy of our own government.

 

[kyzr]

I support cutting spending..up to the point of shutting down the government...then again, I'd shut down the Department of Jihad on principle.

 

[Mad Scientist]

There are a lot of Americans out there like Bass who just don't get it. We don't have the money!

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

Just awesome.... now the "fiscally responsible" Obama voters are big debt fans.

AWESOME!

 

[glew]

Definitely time for a few austerity measures of our own

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

There are a lot of Americans out there like Bass who just don't get it. We don't have the money!

Basshole doesn't get much... believe me. He's a partison hack if there ever was one.

 

[Article 15]

Unless a trillion+ in spending is cut it's going to happen no matter what or we are really boned.

 

[editec]

Are Republicans serious about refusing to raise the debt ceiling?

No, but they're seriously going to POSTURE that they are.

Put the shoe on the other foot.

Do you think they'd want to shut down government if they were running it?

Of course not. They did that once and they got their asses handed to them the next election cycle, remember?

But as long as they can spin their objections into the myth that they are fiscally conservative, while the Dems take it on the neck because of this economy, they are naturally doing to do that.

Just as the Dems might be tempted to do in they were the minority party.

Partisanship is a cancer on our government, folks.

It insures that one side is hoping and working toward the failure of policies of the other party.

If that's not nuts, I surely don't know what is.

 

[Full-Auto]

Are Republicans serious about refusing to raise the debt ceiling?

No, but they're seriously going to POSTURE that they are.

Put the shoe on the other foot.

Do you think they'd want to shut down government if they were running it?

Of course not. They did that once and they got their asses handed to them the next election cycle, remember?

But as long as they can spin their objections into the myth that they are fiscally conservative, while the Dems take it on the neck because of this economy, they are naturally doing to do that.

Just as the Dems might be tempted to do in they were the minority party.

Partisanship is a cancer on our government, folks.

It insures that one side is hoping and working toward the failure of policies of the other party.

If that's not nuts, I surely don't know what is.

Are you failing to pay attention? The repubs do not run government and will not be running it in January. They will throw a big wrench into spending. Something every single american should embrace.

 

[Claudette]

I think they will lift it.

If I remember correctly back in the 90's they tried letting the Govt shut down.

Didn't work to well so I doubt seriously they will try it again.

 

[antagon]

there's a lot of faith in republicans. the koolaid flows from taps on either side of the aisle.

 

[washamericom]

They by God had better be. We are broke.

Bring on the cuts.

I hope the Republitards do it too, then we can get rid of the rest of the Republitard trash in the nest House and Senate elections and would for sure keep a GOP president out of the WH.

you seem like a really nice guy, how come you don't have alot of rep points?

yeah, but i'm not a nice guy...

antagon, i'm still working on the "clinton surplus myth", been so busy. if it turns out you're right, would you consider publishing ?

 

[Mad Scientist]

I think they will lift it. If I remember correctly back in the 90's they tried letting the Govt shut down. Didn't work to well so I doubt seriously they will try it again.

True, but would you agree that it's an entirely different situation we are in today? Plus, I think more and more people are getting educated as to the seriousness of our financial problems.

The old "Left vs. Right" argument doesn't work as well as it used to. Going broke isn't just a Liberal or Conservative problem, it's a National Problem.

 

[Claudette]

Your right about that.

I also remember when the Govt shut down nobody noticed the diffence.

I wonder what would happen if it shut down now?? Would anyone notice??

 

[antagon]

what if the 'shutdown' was real? what if it lasted more than a few months?

i think things will be noticeable.

 

[loosecannon]

I think shutting down the government to force a budget reconciliation is not a bad idea....

Provided that terminal gridlock doesn't prevail.

It will be impossible, or suicidal, for the GOP to defend extending the tax cuts if they actually shut down the government over the deficit.